The potential of native tree species for forest restoration in the Central Congo Basin

作者：Brice Yannick Djiofack, Nils Bourland, Hans Beeckman, Paolo Cerutti, Collins Dzernyuy Fai, Martin Van Hulle, Mathilde Pierson, Jules Mayaux, Nestor K. Luambua, Donatien Musepena, Basile Luse Belanganayi, Félix Laurent, Bhély Angoboy Ilondea, Jan Van den Bulcke, Wannes Hubau · 发表于：Ecological Engineering · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107662 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Forest ecology and management、African Botany and Ecology Studies、Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems

Decades of deforestation and unsustainable land use have created extensive areas of degraded and deforested land across the central Congo Basin, contributing substantially to climate change and biodiversity loss. Recently, nature-based solutions have gained increasing interest, particularly those focusing on forest restoration for long-term carbon sequestration and additional societal benefits for human well-being. Thus, forest restoration, especially with native species, offers a viable pathway to address environmental and social challenges while supporting local communities. However, both technical and scientific knowledge about many native species' performance in large-scale plantations, which could serve the current and future needs of central African countries, is currently lacking. To address these knowledge gaps, we established an experimental plantation in Yangambi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, to evaluate the potential of native tree species in comparison with the fast-growing exotic species Acacia auriculiformis, which is often planted in monoculture at a large-scale in the central Congo Basin. From 37 promising native species initially selected, the seeds of 19 were successfully harvested from the natural forest. Among these, 16 species yielded sufficient seedlings in the nursery and were planted in the field. After five years, five native species (Pachyelasma tessmannii, Piptadeniastrum africanum, Irvingia smithii, Ongokea gore, and Canarium schweinfurthii) d...